Missing in Action
by Horsefeathers103
Summary: Greg is missing and it's up to the LVCL night shift to find him. Takes place after Chemistry.
1. Awaiting the Arrival

A/N  Greg, Grissom, Catherine and company belong to Jerry Bruckheimer and those at CBS.  Only Beth is mine.

* * *

* * *

"Thanks for the ride, Sara."

"Anytime Beth."

Beth closed the car door and Sara backed out of the driveway. Beth took a deep breath and stormed up the steps to the house. It had been a long night at work, and she was tired, frustrated, and angry. She wanted nothing more than to sit in front of the television with a pint of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream watching old Sherlock Holmes films with Basil Rathbone. Out of all of the men that played Holmes, Basil Rathbone was her favorite. She could watch him all day… A blur of motion shattered her daydream. She turned to see a dog chasing a cat down the sidewalk, and she scolded herself for losing touch with reality. She pulled the front door open with a force that surprised even her. When she had finally stepped inside, she took another deep breath, trying to slow her pulse and her racing mind.

Work had been hell. She shattered three beakers and four test tubes, broke the spectrophotometer, screwed up on two separate DNA tests and had to reevaluate them both, and to top it all off, she had fought with Greg. Tears began to well in her eyes as the scene played out in her mind.

* * *

She had just broken her third beaker. "Shit…" She mumbled a string of other more colorful curses as she bent down to carefully pick up the larger shards of glass. Greg had heard the noise and came to her side. 

"What is that, number three?"

"Greg, I really don't need this right now. In fact, I don't need anything right now." She ignored him, focusing solely on the broken glass.

"Not even a little bit of help?" He gave her the best puppy eyes that he could conjure up. But when she looked up and saw him, it just aggravated her further.

"No! Don't you understand? I don't need any help! I'm fine! Everything's fine! Just… Just leave me alone, okay?"   
He looked her in the eyes as he spoke. "No, I can't just leave you alone. You're my wife and I love you. Now, do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"No, I don't. There's nothing wrong."

"Well, there either is something wrong, or there's not. Make up your mind."

"Greg, can you please just leave me alone?" He didn't even respond. He slowly stood up, looking her in the eyes one last time, then left her to clean her mess alone.

* * *

Greg was only trying to be a best friend to her, and she had thrown it back in his face. There wasn't even anything wrong, other than the fact that she was having an awful night. She wanted nothing more than to apologize and get lost in his embrace. But Greg ended up working overtime, and Sara had offered her a ride home. 

Beth slipped her shoes off and went to toss her keys on the kitchen table when she noticed them. Sitting in the center of the table in a simple black and white vase were a dozen gray roses. She knew who they were from even before she opened the card. Greg was the only person who cared to know that her favorite color was gray. She reached in through the roses and picked out the card. It read, "I love you honey, and I'm sorry your day went so horribly. I'll be home as soon as Grissom releases his death grip on me. Love, Greg."

She smiled in spite of herself, and all of her troubles melted away. All that was left was the desire for ice cream, a movie, and Greg. So, she searched through the freezer and found some ice cream. It was Black Raspberry, not Phish Food, but it would have to do. She grabbed a spoon and headed into the living room. She popped _The Woman in Green_ into the DVD player and settled into the couch to await the arrival of her knight in shining armor.


	2. Butterflies

A/N I don't own any of these characters aside from Beth. 

A/N Mia Liz, I don't know how readily available gray roses are, but if there are green, blue, and various other colors of roses, I'm sure there can be gray ones, as well. I personally think that gray roses would be amazing.

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Beth never liked the way _The Woman in Green_ ended. Something about the way Moriarty died seemed so anticlimactic. She glanced at the clock and decided to call the lab. Overtime at the lab was so unpredictable, so she wasn't sure if she should be expecting Greg home soon… or never. She dialed the Las Vegas Crime Lab looking for Grissom.

"Las Vegas Crime Lab, Mary speaking. How may I direct your call?"

"Hi Mary, this is Beth. Can you patch me through to Grissom?"

"Sure thing, Beth. By the way, I heard you had a bad day. Are you feeling alright?"

Beth breathed an audible sigh of defeat. "Did Greg tell you?"

"Yes, he did, but only because I asked. He asked me if he could use the phone to call the florist, and I asked him why. His answer was simply that your day wasn't going all that well and he wanted to cheer you up. Did the flowers work?"

"They did. Thank you for asking."

"Alright, here's Grissom." Beth waited for a few moments, listening to pathetic elevator music while her call was redirected. Just when she thought the music was going to drive her insane, Grissom picked up.

"Grissom."

"Hi Grissom, it's Beth."

"Hey, I meant to ask you, were you feeling alright tonight?"

Beth chuckled. "Did Greg tell you, too?"

"No… As supervisor, I see all of the maintenance requests. I believe you broke three beakers, three crystal test tubes, and the spectrophotometer."

"Actually, I broke four of the crystal test tubes, but who's counting? But that's beside the point. I called to ask how much longer you planned on keeping Greg."

"Beth, Greg left over an hour ago. I needed him to run a few tests for me, but they ended up being relatively quick ones. He probably left not twenty minutes after you left with Sara."

"Did he say anything about doing something or going somewhere before he came home?"

"No, on the contrary, he told to me how he wanted nothing more than to get home and cheer you up. I believe his exact words were, 'Grissom, I've never seen her so out of her element. It's as if her world was thrown out of orbit or something.' He mentioned something about how he was planning on stopping to pick up some Chinese food, but had decided against it. He wanted to get home to you as soon as possible."

"Well, I'll call his cell and see where he is. If he calls you, can you let me know?"

"Sure thing."

"Thanks Griss."

"You're welcome, Beth." She hung up the phone and quickly dialed Greg's cell phone number. With each passing ring, the queasiness in her stomach worsened. After nine rings, Greg's voicemail kicked in, and she hung up.

The drive from the lab to the house took roughly fifteen minutes, so there was no reason for him to be missing in action. He should have arrived home long ago. Beth tried to console herself with the knowledge that Greg was a grown man, fully able to take care of himself. But it wasn't working. She called his cell once more. But she decided to leave him a message this time.

After the ninth ring, she heard his voice. "Hi, you've reached Greg. If you're name is Beth, go ahead and leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Otherwise, you can leave me a message and I'll get back to you… when I get around to it." Beth could see him smiling when she heard his message. For a moment, she forgot that she was worried about him, but the harsh beep of his voicemail brought her anxiety back in a flash.

"Hi Greg, it's Beth. When you get a chance, call me back. No one seems to know where you are and I'm starting to get worried. Please, just let me know where you are. Hope to see you soon." She hung up the phone and settled onto her couch to wait.


	3. Communication

A/N I don't own any CSI characters... although it would be nice if I did.

* * *

* * *

Greg opened his eyes slowly, allowing them to adjust to the onslaught of light. The last thing he remembered was talking to Grissom, then heading out to his car. He unlocked the door and settled into the driver's seat. After that, everything went black. He best guess was that he had been hit over the head with something very solid, since his head was throbbing. He reached his hand up to the back of his head and he found a good-sized bump that confirmed his suspicions. He tried in vain to remember more about his attacker, but he hadn't seen, smelled, or heard anything. He was taken completely by surprise.

When his eyes had finally adjusted to the light, he began to observe his surroundings. He found that he was in a home of some sort, possibly a trailer. Clothing, trash, and various other objects were thrown over chairs and couches and the place was in general disarray. He was sitting on an ugly orange couch that looked like it had been taken directly out of the seventies. He stood to further investigate his surroundings, but the sudden change in altitude caused his vision to blur and his headache to return full force. He closed his eyes and collapsed back onto the couch, trying to reestablish his fragile equilibrium.

While he waited for his vision to clear, he decided it would be best to try and contact someone back home. With his eyes closed, he reached into this left pocket with the hopes that his cell phone was still there. He was in luck. Whoever had abducted him had overlooked his cell phone. When he flipped open the phone, it beeped, notifying him that he had voicemail. He ignored it and speed-dialed his home phone number, eyes still closed.

* * *

Beth had been sitting on the couch, with the television on for almost two hours since she left Greg the message. She had zoned out, not hearing, seeing, or even acknowledging the television, or anything else for that matter. When she heard the phone ring, she jumped and almost fell off the couch. She quickly regained herself and ran to the kitchen, deftly dodging furniture and walls. When the phone came within sight, she dove for it. She answered it on the second ring.

"Greg?"

"Yea, Beth, it's me."

"I'm so glad to hear your voice. Where are you? Are you okay? Did anything—"

"Slow down Beth, you're making my headache worse."

"Your headache? Greg, what happened?"

"I'm not really sure. I remember saying goodbye to Grissom, and heading out to the car. I remember unlocking the car door and settling in for the drive home. And that's it. After that, I don't remember anything."

"Where are you?"

"I don't know. I seem to be in a trailer of some sort."

"Can you see any landmarks, anything that will help us find you?" She heard the movement of curtains.

"The only things I can see right now are trees."

"That doesn't really help me, Greg."

"Well, it doesn't really help me—" He stopped mid-thought.

"Greg…?"

"I think I see someone coming."

She held her breath, not wanting to make a sound.

"Beth, I'm going to leave the phone on so you can hear what's going on. I'm going to try and get him to talk."

"Be careful, Greg. I just want you to come home."

"Whatever happens, I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Okay, you need to promise me that you won't make any noise regardless of what you hear. I don't want him to know that I have the phone."

"I promise."

"Okay… Not another sound."


	4. Distress

A/N I don't own any of the CSI characters....only Beth.

* * *

* * *

Greg set the phone on the floor almost underneath the couch. He looked for a good cover that wouldn't distort the sound too badly and finally settled on a candy wrapper he found nearby. He placed the candy wrapper over the phone to conceal it, and settled back into the corner of the couch where he woke up, and waited.

He didn't have to wait long. Greg had just enough time to settle into the couch and become comfortable before a woman entered the trailer. Greg started to rise from the couch, but he was quickly commanded to sit.

"I'd much rather you remain seated, Mr. Sanders." Greg's first observation was that she was carrying a gun. His second was that she spoke with a very commanding voice for such a small woman. His third was that she was no taller than five feet four inches, and no more than thirty years of age. His fourth and most important observation was the she was in very good shape, not a woman to be easily pushed aside.

Greg did not wish to die so soon in the "game," so he decided that he would obey her order. As he slowly sat back down on the couch, he tried to decide how he should respond to her. Even though she spoke only a few words, Greg got the impression that she was well-educated. So, he decided to talk to her as he would to anyone who was his superior: with undertones of the intelligence that he preferred to hide. "You seem to have me at a bit of a disadvantage. You know my name, but I am unsure as to yours."

"That was one of the things I always loved about you Greg. You play the fool, but in actuality, you are a rather intelligent young man."

Greg breathed an inward sigh of relief. She liked the response he had chosen. Now, if he could only keep her talking. "If you don't mind my asking, when and where have we met? I don't recall—" Greg's headache suddenly returned with a vengeance. He tried to focus on where he was, who he was, what he was saying, anything. But it all became blurry and faded into darkness. Within seconds, he fell over on the couch, unconscious.

* * *

Beth had heard the conversation, even though the voices had been muffled by whatever Greg had placed over the phone. She had heard Greg ask his last question, and had heard his voice fade into nothing. She then heard what sounded like a body collapsing onto a couch. It took all of her willpower to refrain from shouting out to him. She wanted desperately to know what had happened. The next thing she heard sent chills down her spine.

"I know you're listening, Mrs. Sanders. I allowed Greg to keep his cell phone with the hopes that he would call you." Beth heard papers and various other objects being shuffled around until finally, she heard the woman's voice crystal clear. "Your husband is a very clever man. But I am cleverer still. I have him where I want him, and I have no need of you anymore. I hope your last encounter with Mr. Sanders was a happy one, because you will never see him again." Before Beth could even form a response, the phone went dead.

She stood there for a few moments, at an absolute loss of what to do. Finally, the overwhelming weight of the situation hit her. The phone fell from her hands, dangling from the console, and she collapsed to the floor, tears cascading down her face.


	5. Shock

A/N Don't own any of these guys, except Beth.

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Grissom got out of work earlier than usual, which was still later than everyone else. The night shift had ended roughly four hours earlier, and everyone had been sent home. He had wanted to work on a few things before he headed out, but he decided after four hours that the rest could wait. As he exited the Las Vegas Crime Lab, his mind wandered over the events of his evening. His thoughts drifted to Greg and the young man's haste to get home to Beth. His thought continued to drift on, towards Beth. He mind suddenly stopped drifting and snapped back to reality. He had not heard from either one. He knew that Beth was home and worried sick, so he decided that he would stop by the Sanders' residence on his way home just to make sure that things had worked out.

The drive was a relatively short one, only fifteen minutes long. When he arrived at their house, he found Beth's Kia Cinco in the driveway, but Greg's silver Civic was missing. He parked his Tahoe beside the tiny Kia. After stepping out of his vehicle, Grissom hurriedly walked up to the front door.

He knocked. There was no answer, so he knocked again. This time, he thought he heard a faint sound coming from within the house. He let himself in and followed the sound. "Beth? Are you here?" There was no response, other than the soft sound that he heard previously.

His heart broke when Beth came into view. She was sitting on the floor with her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. The phone was dangling off the hook beside her. The sound that he had heard was the phone recording telling her to, "Please hang up and dial again." She was oblivious to all of her surroundings as she sat there, rocking back and forth. Her face, what he could see of it, was soaked with tears that had long since stopped falling. His best guess was that she had been sitting in that position for the better portion of an hour.

Realizing that she was in some sort of shock, he approached her slowly, not wanting to alarm her. His mind was racing with various situations and possibilities, but he shut them out, deciding that he had to be strong for her.

He knelt down in front of her and gently lifted her chin so that he could look at her face. Although he was looking into her eyes, she was not looking into his. She was looking through his eyes, to some point behind him. He spoke slowly and reassuringly, not wanting to worsen her state of mind. "Beth, I'm here for you, honey. But I need you to talk to me so that I can help you." He kept his voice steady although his heart was racing. "Beth, tell me what happened. Who called?"

She seemed to hear him because her eyes moved, focusing on his eyes, rather than beyond them. As he watched, her whole body began to shudder, and tears began to well up in her eyes. She spoke in a soft, defeated voice. "She said that I would never see Greg again." Her tears began to fall, and she threw her arms around him. His worst fears had been confirmed. Greg had not taken a detour, had not been stuck in traffic, and had not stopped to pick up food. He had been abducted, and time was running out.

Grissom pulled Beth in closer to himself, cradling her as if she were a small child. With one hand, he massaged her back, and with the other, he reached for his cell phone.


	6. To the Rescue

A/N I don't own any of these characters besides Beth.

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Catherine heard the phone ring, and she tried to ignore it. It had been a long night of work, and she was exhausted. She pulled the sheets over her head and trued to go back to sleep. But the phone continued to ring. She had no choice but to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Catherine, I need you at Beth and Greg's house right now."

"Gil, is everything okay?"

"No, bring Nick with you."

"I think Warrick went over to Nick's place after work. I'll see if he's still there. If not, I'll call him and have him meet us there."

"Good. I'll call Sara."

She hung up the phone and quickly dialed Nick's number. After three rings, he picked up. "Stokes."

"Nick, I need you to get over to Greg's house as soon as possible."

"Cath, I'm having a bit of a party here. Can it wait?"

"No, it can't. Grissom is already there and waiting. He's rounding up the team. It's pretty urgent. Is Warrick there?"

"Yea, I'll bring him, too."

"Thanks Nick. I'll see you in a few."

"Yea."

Grissom hung up the phone and called Sara. After six rings, she picked up. "This had better be good, Grissom."

"Sara, I need you at Beth and Greg's house right now."

"What's wrong?"

"I'll explain when you get here."

"I'm on my way."

After he hung up, he called Brass. He wasn't sure if Brass would answer, but he needed all of the help he could get. Grissom's hopes fell when the answering machine picked up. "You've reached Jim Brass. Leave a message."

"Brass, it's Grissom. When—"

"What do you want, Gil?" His voice was rather gruff, but then again, it always was.

"I need you at the Sanders' house as soon as humanly possible."

"I'll be there in five minutes."

Grissom heard a click, signifying that Brass had hung up. Grissom knew that his team respected him, and he was grateful that they sensed the urgency of the situation and did not question his request. He let out a deep breath, and sat holding Beth, all the while waiting for his friends to arrive.

Within half an hour, Catherine, Nick, Warrick, Sara, and Brass gathered in the living room of Beth and Greg Sanders. Grissom sat on the couch beside Beth, cradling her in the crook of his arm. Catherine sat on the other side of Beth holding her hand reassuringly. Brass and Warrick had grabbed chairs from the kitchen and had situated themselves in front of the couch, while Nick sat on ottoman he found on the other side of the room. Sara sat on the floor in front of Brass and Warrick. None of them knew why they had rushed from their homes, but they knew that something was wrong. They waited for Grissom to speak

After everyone had settled in, Grissom informed them of the situation at hand. "Approximately five hours ago, Greg Sanders left the crime lab and has not been seen since. Beth received a phone call from Greg over an hour ago during which he was incapacitated. Shortly thereafter, his captor, a woman, informed Beth that she would never see her husband again. We have very little to go on, at this point. Beth has yet to share the details of the phone call with me, and unless we think of something, I don't think she will share those details anytime soon."

The CSIs listened to Grissom, but watched Beth. She was leaning into his chest like a small child would lean into her father after she fell down the steps. Her knees were pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped tightly around them, and she was rocking slightly. Her eyes were red, but there were no more tears. She stared at an unseen object on the floor just in front of Sara, all the while seeing and hearing nothing.


	7. Recollection

A/N All CSI characters belong to CBS, not me.

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Catherine could only imagine what Beth was experiencing. The young chemist had just been told that she would never see her best friend again. Catherine knew that there was still a glimmer of hope, so she decided to try and release the clues that Beth had locked in her mind.

"Beth, I need you to look at me. Can you do that?" Beth didn't even blink an eye. Catherine did not wait for a response, but instead moved so that she was kneeling on the floor in front of Beth. She looked the young woman in the eye and continued. "Beth, I know you've been dealt a near fatal blow, and I can't even begin to imagine what you're feeling, but Greg is still out there. There is still a chance for us to find him. All we need is for you to talk to us." Beth blinked her eyes and acknowledged Catherine's presence for the first time. "That's good, Beth. I just need you to talk to me now. You need to be strong for Greg. He needs you more now than he's ever needed you before." Beth slowly came out of her trance, acknowledging the CSIs for the first time. She looked around the room, from Nick to Warrick to Brass to Sara to Catherine and finally to Grissom. She slowly regained a conscious awareness of her situation and what had happened. To the surprise of all present, she began to speak. She spoke just loud enough for all to hear, but she was talking to Grissom.

"Greg called me on his cell phone. He sounded okay at first, but he had a headache. He told me that he remembered getting in his car after saying goodbye to you, but nothing after that. He told me that he was in a trailer surrounded by trees. Then someone was coming. He left the phone on so that I could hear what was said." Beth paused momentarily, then launched into the brief conversation between Greg and his abductor, reciting it verbatim.

"'I'd much rather you remain seated, Mr. Sanders.'

'You seem to have me at a bit of a disadvantage. You know my name, but I am unsure as to yours.'

'That was one of the things I always loved about you Greg. You play the fool, but in actuality, you are a rather intelligent young man.'

'If you don't mind my asking, when and where have we met? I don't recall—'

After that, Greg fell over, and I don't think he was awake when he fell."

She spoke like a small child, in addition to acting like one. Grissom waited patiently for the rest of the story.

"Then, after Greg fell, she talked to me." She broke Grissom's gaze and turned away from him. He gently urged her to continue talking.

"Beth, what did she say?"

In an icy cold voice that disturbed even Grissom, Beth quoted the words that had initially sent her into shock. "'I know you're listening, Mrs. Sanders. I allowed Greg to keep his cell phone with the hopes that he would call you. Your husband is a very clever man. But I am cleverer still. I have him where I want him, and I have no need of you anymore. I hope your last encounter with Mr. Sanders was a happy one, because you will never see him again.'"


	8. Hope Renewed

A/N As much as I'd like them to be mine, these characters do not belong to me, just Beth is mine.

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* * *

Beth closed her eyes, reliving the moment. Greg had been talking to her one minute, and only a few short minutes later, he was gone. Beth hoped against all odds that he was alive, but things were looking grim. She was a scientist. She analyzed facts and data for a living. All of the facts in this case pointed to one conclusion: she would never see Greg again. Her mind was at war with itself, and it was tearing her to shreds. On the one side, she wanted Greg to be alive; she wanted to see him again. On the other side, she knew that it would take a miracle to bring Greg back, and the scientist inside of her did not foresee a miracle in the near future. She breathed a sigh of defeat and shifted in Grissom's arms. 

"Grissom?" She whispered softly, so that the others couldn't hear her.

"Yes, Beth?" He whispered back.

"Do you think I will ever see Greg again?"

* * *

Grissom heard her question, but hesitated in answering. He looked over the faces of his friends and co-workers. They wanted nothing more than to see Greg alive, but they had no clues as to his whereabouts. The only information they had to go on was what Beth had shared with them, and that was hardly sufficient. His eyes fell on Catherine, a mother who protected those near her, and he knew what he had to do. He was not a very emotional man, but there were certain things that affected him. The suffering of those closest to him was one of those things. He had been through a near-fatal encounter with Beth and Greg, and he counted them to be his closest friends, closer even than Catherine. If this had been a case where he knew neither the victim nor the family, he would have told the truth saying that it was very unlikely that the missing person would be found. But in this case, he knew the victim and was part of the family, and although he knew the truth, he couldn't bring himself to say it. He now understood why the living victims needed to be told that everything was going to be okay. 

He took a moment to compose himself, then spoke with confidence. "I know that you will see Greg again. We are going to work our hardest to bring him back, safe and sound. But we're going to need your help if that's going to happen. Can you do that?"

She accepted his words with the faith of a child and a familiar spark of life returned to her eyes. "If you think it will help bring him back home, I'll do whatever it takes." With that, she seemed to come back to life, shaking off the shackles of the hold that the situation had on her. She now had hope, and that was all she needed.

Grissom and company knew they had a tough road in front of them, and the fact that Beth was holding their only clues made it tougher. But now that Beth was able and willing to work with them, their work was made that much lighter.


	9. Jenny

A/N CSI belongs to CBS, blah, blah, blah...

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* * *

Greg awoke and sat up, fully refreshed. His head felt fine and he was fully aware of his surroundings. It was rather dark, but he could tell that something had changed. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the relative darkness of the room, and what he saw left him momentarily confused. He was no longer in the trailer. He was in what seemed to be a log cabin, and a very nice one at that. But he didn't remember being moved. He came to the conclusion that he must have been out cold.

Upon discovering that he was not bound in any way, he approached one wall and found what appeared to be a light switch. He flicked it on and the room was flooded with light. He had to shield his eyes for a few seconds, until they readjusted.

When he reopened his eyes, he saw what appeared to be a large sitting room. The room was both welcoming and intimidating at the same time. The soft earth tones of the furniture and the lush carpet were warm and inviting, while the high log ceiling and enormous glass window demanded respect. The glass window, upon further inspection, was not actually a window, but rather a glass wall. Outside of this glass wall, he saw the same types of trees that he had seen earlier, the only difference being that it was evening rather than afternoon.

He continued to explore the room, looking for anything that he could use as a weapon. As furnished as the room was, there seemed to be nothing that he could use to defend himself. The room was lit entirely by a sole chandelier that hung from the high ceiling, so there were no lamps or glass within reach. The fireplace was sectioned off and out of reach, so he could not use a burning log, and there were no pokers that he could see.

After a few more minutes of exploring the room, he heard a door behind him softly open and close. He turned around to see a beautiful woman in a short form-fitting black cocktail dress. She was wearing black high heels that accentuated her long legs. Her hair was done up in a French twist with a few soft curls framing her face. She approached him slowly and confidently. Something about her looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. It finally came to him when she was within a few feet of where he was standing. This was the woman from the trailer.

"Do you remember me yet, Greg?" Greg shook his head, slowly. Something about the woman seemed eerily familiar, outside the fact that she was his kidnapper, but he couldn't place it. "Well, it has been a while, and I've changed a lot. I'll give you a hint." She turned away from him, displaying the low-cut back to her dress. In the center of her lower back was a small tattoo. Greg moved closer to her in order to get a better look at the tattoo. His fingers instinctively traced the small design. It was a small Erlenmeyer flask with red liquid in it and a small cloud of gas rolling out and over the top. He knew that tattoo. He had one just like it on his shoulder blade. He and his college girlfriend had gotten the tattoos together.

"Jenny." The name opened a long-locked gate holding back memories he had tried again and again to forget.


	10. Unwanted Memories

A/N CBS owns all CSI characters...

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* * *

Greg Sanders and Jennifer Langly had dated in college for two years. Most people that knew them figured they were destined to be married. She was a biochemistry major and he was a chemistry major, and they had a lot in common. They had the same interests, the same dreams, and the same goals in life. They differed on one thing, though. She desperately wanted to marry him, but he wanted to wait until he graduated and settled into a job before he married. 

One night, Greg had gone out with the guys and come home rather drunk. Jenny was there waiting for him, just to make sure that he arrived home safely. In his drunken stupor, he proposed to her. She was so excited that he proposed, that she overlooked his drunken state and accepted. When Greg woke up the next morning, he had a hangover from hell and a fiancée, neither of which he really wanted. When he had sobered up and fully comprehended his actions, he tried to clear things up. He tried to make Jenny understand that he had been drunk, and that he was not ready for marriage. The more he tried to talk to her, the worse things became, until finally, she snapped. She grabbed the first thing that she could find and threw it at Greg. Unfortunately for Greg, the item had been a heavy glass vase. It hit him square on the head and shattered upon impact. Greg ended up in the hospital with some deep cuts and a minor concussion. He refused to press charges, saying that Jenny was his friend, and was not herself when she had thrown the glass.

But Jenny became obsessive. She sent him threatening letters and called him daily. On more than one occasion, she could be found pounding on his door, demanding to be let in. Greg had loved her once, but she changed drastically. Being the gentlemen that he was, he would never hurt her in any way, shape, or form, but his safety was at stake. She had proven once that she would not hesitate to hurt him, so he was left with no other option than to get a restraining order against her. Not even that stopped her. She violated the order not more than a day after it had been issued. She showed up at his house seething with anger and shouting threats. Greg was forced to do something that he would regret almost every day of his life. He called the police.

Jenny had been sent to jail. But not before she vowed that he would see her again.

* * *

Greg shook the memories out of his mind, bringing himself back to the present. An odd combination of fear and hatred surged through his veins. His words dripped with sarcasm. "So, when did you get out of jail?" 

"I was a good girl and they let me out on parole, never to be heard from again."

His eyes narrowed. "I shouldn't have expected anything less."

"I told you that I would be back, and here I am." Her eyes narrowed in return. "I see that you're married now."

"Yes, and happily, for that matter." He spat the words at her.

"We were so good together, Greg. We made such an awesome team. Why did you have to go and ruin it?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Jenny, you were the one who ruined it when you gave me that concussion."

"No Greg, you ruined it when you took back your proposal." She began to pace and he knew he had to tread lightly from here on in. She had harbored an obsession with him for a few years now, and she was not in the most stable condition. But then an idea hit him. She was wearing high heels and a dress. When Beth wore heels, which was a rare occasion, she complained about how she had difficulty with fast movements and movement in general. Maybe Jenny would have the same problem. And at the moment, Jenny was aggravated and out of focus which would probably increase his chances of getting the upper hand. He seized the moment and lunged at her.


	11. Mount Charleston

A/N Same old, same old... I don't own these guys.

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* * *

The ragtag team of CSIs huddled around Beth as she retold the story once more, pausing whenever someone interrupted to ask for further clarification or for more details. As they listened, their minds worked over and processed the information until there was not a single hint or clue left unnoticed.

Catherine's head snapped up as a thought suddenly came to her. She almost shouted she was so excited. "I think I might know where that is! I just took Lindsey on a hike over at Mount Charleston, and I heard rumors of there being a trailer somewhere in the park. No one seemed to know where it was in the park, since it covers roughly 316,000 acres. I didn't really think anything of it at the time, but it's close enough and is wooded enough to be just the place we're looking for."

Grissom was the first to respond. "It's a long shot, but we don't have much else." He quickly turned to Brass. "Jim, what can you do about getting a helicopter to survey Mount Charleston for that trailer?"

"I'll do better than one. I'll get at least two up in the air." With that, Brass stood and proceeded to pace the room while making a few calls on his cell phone. Within minutes, he had three helicopters lined up to begin an aerial search of the park.

"Thanks Jim. Now all we can do is wait."

After about five minutes of suspense-filled silence passed, Beth decided to make a move. Having regained a firm grip on reality, she finally became fully aware of the sacrifice that her friends were making for her and Greg. Everyone that was at her house had come off a long night's work and was dead-tired. But they had come to her side to help her in her time of need, regardless. She decided to show her gratitude by making them a sort of mid-afternoon breakfast. She made them scrambled eggs and toast, since that was about all she could cook. Although everyone was on edge, the food served to take some of the tension out of the air.

During the meal, Brass continued pacing. He ate very little off the plate that Beth brought to him. He remained in constant communication with the three helicopters, seeing virtually everything that they saw. After roughly half an hour, he abruptly stopped pacing and started speaking excitedly into his phone. Everyone stopped eating so that they could better hear what he was saying. Shortly thereafter, he hung up his phone and addressed the team.

"They've found a trailer in the park. It's around the back side of the mountain. It won't take us long to get there. I informed the local police to check the trailer for any signs of life, but they are not to touch anything."

Within minutes, everyone was in a vehicle. Warrick rode with Brass who led the way in a police cruiser, lights flashing and siren blaring. Grissom followed close behind in his Tahoe with Beth in the passenger seat and Sara, Catherine, and Nick sitting in the back.

During the drive, Brass heard from the local police that there was no one in the trailer, but someone had definitely been there recently. Brass informed them to remain at the trailer until he arrived.

They arrived at the park after a long and tense twenty minute drive. Everyone exited their vehicles while Brass talked to a park ranger. The ranger informed Brass that there was a service road that rounded the mountain, but it was in rough shape. He also informed Brass that neither the Tahoe nor the cruiser was fit for traversing the road, or path, as he called it.

Brass began to lose his cool. "Okay, so our vehicles won't last on this path. But there has to be something here that will. We need to get to that trailer now!"

The ranger quickly took a set of keys off his belt and tossed them to Brass. "Here. These are the keys to the park vehicle. She's been on that road a lot, and she'll definitely get you there in one piece. She's around back."

"Thanks." Brass quickly located the vehicle. It was a black Hummer. The vehicle was covered with mud, leaves, grass, and anything else that could be found in the park. It looked like it had covered every square inch of the park more than once. And it looked like it was ready to do it again. Everyone loaded into the H1 as Brass revved the engine.


	12. A Suspect is Found

A/N I don't own any of these characters, 'cept Beth.

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* * *

Greg hit Jenny full on, and the two of them rolled across the carpet. The impact caught her unaware, but by the time she gained her bearings, Greg was in control of the situation. She was lying on her back, and Greg held her arms pinned to the floor. When Greg looked down at her, he found that she had a gun in her right hand. The sight of the weapon brought back images of Grissom's townhouse, images that included Beth and Grissom bound and gagged on the floor, a madman with a gun, and blood, lots of blood. The images were overwhelming and for a moment in time, all processes in his mind ceased. He froze, physically and mentally.

Every one of his muscles tensed. His grip on Jenny's arms increased ten-fold, to the point where he was hurting her. She struggled under his grip, but to no avail. She tried to regain control of her arms, and therefore the gun, but was unsuccessful. Greg's grip was too strong, and after a minute or so passed, he had cut off the blood flow to her hands. She couldn't even wiggle her fingers and the gun rolled to the floor.

Greg never took his eyes off the weapon. His eyes were locked on it while his mind played a horrific video account of the night he proposed to Beth. Only when the gun fell to the floor did Greg come out of his trance. In one fluid motion he grabbed the gun and put the safety on. Then, putting the gun in his belt, he stood, letting Jenny move about feely.

The first thing she did was rub her wrists in order to get the blood flowing again. "That's quite a grip you have, Greg." She stood slowly, still rubbing her wrists.

"Yea…" Greg mumbled, still trying to regain his composure. He shook his head, trying to shake the pictures out of his mind. "So where are we?"

"We're at my summer home. We're just outside Mount Charleston."

"Since when have you had a summer home?"

"Well, it belongs to my parents, but they rarely come out here anymore. So I kind of took it over as my own. It's my 'fortress of solitude,' I guess. No one knows it's here."

"Right. I've been missing what, a day or two? I give Beth, Grissom and the others a few more hours before they find me."

Greg watched Jenny with a cautious eye as she moved towards the couch. She sat down and eyed Greg, smiling. "You know, you're cute when you're flustered."

Greg knew he had won this particular battle. He had the gun, and Jenny was subdued. For now, he was safe.

* * *

Brass pushed the off-road vehicle to its limits, speeding across the uneven terrain that made up the service road. Beth was riding in the passenger seat, and the rest of the CSIs were in the back doing their best to remain seated as the vehicle bucked in protest to the combination of speed and bad road. 

Within twenty minutes, they arrived at the trailer. The CSIs quickly vacated the vehicle and began a highly organized and thorough search of the trailer. Sara and Warrick searched the exterior of the trailer and surrounding woods for any evidence of Greg or anyone else. Grissom, Beth, Catherine, and Nick, searched the interior of the trailer, hoping to find something that would lead them to Greg. And Brass spoke with the officers who secured the trailer, with the hopes that they saw, heard, or smelled something that would indicate that someone was recently present.

Beth was the first to find anything of significance. "Greg was here."

"What did you find, Beth?" Grissom looked up from the kitchen sink.

She was kneeling on the floor, moving aside some trash when he saw what she had found. It was Greg's cell phone. Beth was careful not to touch it, because she knew that Greg's kidnapper had touched it and probably left fingerprints.

Grissom knelt down beside Beth and opened his kit. He pulled out his Red Creeper, his own personal brand of fingerprint powder, and carefully picked up the phone with a gloved hand. He began to dust the phone for prints and was glad to find quite a few prints. "Before we get too excited, we have to realize that some, if not all of these prints belong to Greg. But at least we now have a place to start." He lifted every print that he could and then placed the phone in an evidence bag.

"Grissom, come here." Catherine's voice came from the front end of the trailer.

"What do you have Catherine?"

"I have some mail, bills mostly. But they're all addressed to the same person, a Jennifer Langly. This might be the woman that Beth heard on the phone."

"Good. Beth found Greg's cell phone on the floor among some debris, so we know he was here at some point. I lifted fingerprints off the phone, but I'm not sure what to expect. I'll have Brass run a search on this Langly character. Maybe we'll get lucky."


	13. Forgiven

A/N All CSI characters belong to CBS.

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* * *

Greg paced the length of the room, his eyes never leaving Jenny. She, in turn, sat on the couch, legs crossed, watching him as he paced. For a solid few minutes, neither one of them spoke. It was Jenny who finally broke the silence. She let out a heavy sigh and dropped her eyes to the floor. "This isn't what I wanted at all."

Greg slowed his pacing until he came to a stop. "What did you think was going to happen?" His voice held no hostile tones, just curiosity. "You drugged me with God knows what and took me from everything that I know and love."

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "And you took from me everything that I knew and loved." She was not angry with him. She was simply stating the facts. "When you proposed that night…" She paused, looking for the right words. "I knew you were drunk, but I thought maybe you were finally able to speak your mind freely. You can never understand the pure joy and elation I felt. You meant everything to me, and I wanted to mean everything to you. And it was finally coming true." She averted her eyes as the tears began to fall. "But then you took that from me, and I wasn't even left with what we had in the beginning. All I wanted was for you to love me as much as I loved you."

Greg knew that Jenny was no longer a threat to him. She had just laid bare her soul to him. And he found himself feeling a bit of sympathy for her. He moved towards the couch and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry I caused you that much pain. I know what I did was wrong, and the fact that I was drunk when I did it doesn't take away any of the guilt. I truly am sorry."

They sat for a few minutes in silence, each one contemplating their actions in the past. This time, it was Greg's turn to break the silence. "How about we put this whole matter behind us, a mutual forgive and forget."

With a smile in her eyes, she agreed. "I'm sorry I threw that vase at you. Did it leave a scar?"

"Actually, I think it did." He felt through his hair for the scar, pointing it out to her when he finally found it.

"Enough of that. The past is forgiven and forgotten. Let's start fresh." She stood, reaching her had out to him. "Hi, my name is Jennifer Langly. What's yours?"

He reached out his hand and shook hers firmly. "Jennifer, my name is Greg Sanders. It's a pleasure to meet you. And if you don't mind, I'd like to use your phone."

"Sorry Greg, this place is pretty much cut off from all civilization. I have no phone. You're going to have to wait until your friends come and find you. You thought it would only be a few hours from now, right?"

"Yea, but it would have been nice to let Beth and the others know I was okay. What about your car? We had to get here somehow, didn't we?"

"Sorry, no luck there either. I was in an awful hurry to get you here and I think I broke an axle. I was taking the last corner rather sharp and I heard an awful crack. I lost all control and just barely managed to avoid the trees. Needless to say, I think we're stuck here until your friends come and rescue the both of us."

"What an interesting turn of events." Greg stood up and stretched. "So, what do you have for food in this place?"


	14. The Missing Link Revealed

A/N I don't own any regular CSI characters...

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* * *

Grissom and the others continued to search the trailer while Brass called the Las Vegas Police Department to get some background information on Jennifer Langly. The CSIs didn't want to wait around while Brass was on the phone. They did not idle well. And they had found what they were looking for: a lead. They were no longer following vague wisps of clues, they had a definitive direction. So they continued working, searching the trailer for anything else that might lead them to Greg.

Within fifteen minutes, Brass had all of the information he needed. He called the CSIs together to let them know what he found out. "Guys! I need you over here!" He did not have to wait long for Grissom, Beth, Catherine, Warrick, Nick, and Sara to all assemble. "I called HQ regarding this Jennifer Langly character. It seems she and Greg have a bit of a history. They were dating in college. She wanted to marry him, he wasn't ready. Apparently, Greg proposed to her one night when he was drunk. She overreacted when he tried to withdraw his proposal the next morning when he had sobered up. She threw a heavy glass vase at him, giving him a concussion and sending him to the hospital. Things escalated from there. She threatened him via phone and mail, and she even tried to see him. He didn't know how to react. He got a restraining order against her. She violated it within a day. In the end, he was forced to call the cops, but not before she promised that it would not be the last time he saw her, etc. Well, it looks like she delivered on that promise. And—"

"But where is he now?!" Beth had jumped up and interrupted him.

"I was about to say, I also found out that her parents have a summer home near here. It's about half an hour east of here. The house was actually up for sale at one point, but it looks like they decided to leave it to their daughter."

"Let's go!" Beth was already racing to the Hummer. She had jumped into the passenger's seat before anyone had even moved.

The other CSIs soon followed suit, and piled into the vehicle. Brass sped back towards the welcome center where they had left the cruiser and the Tahoe.

* * *

When Greg and Jenny had been dating, they often prepared meals for each other, since both of them were gifted in the kitchen. And nothing had changed. Jenny was still as good a cook as ever. She had rounded up some pasta and various sauces and created a masterpiece of a meal. They sat together at a small round table, eating and catching up on things gone by.

"So Greg," she spoke without looking up from her plate, "You're a married man now."

"Yes I am. And I've never been happier." An uncomfortable silence settled in for a few brief moments. "Don't get me wrong Jenny, if things had gone differently, I could have been happily married to you. I was just a bit more patient than you, and it cost us both in the end. But I finally met someone who is as patient as I am."

"Greg, tell me about her."

Greg smiled. "Well, I met Beth four or five years ago, five I think. I had been working at the Las Vegas Crime Lab for a bit, when my supervisor informed me that they were getting another lab tech. Said lab tech was Beth Morstan, and we hit it off immediately. And everyone around noticed, too. We stayed friend for four long years until I finally asked her to be my girlfriend. It was the weirdest thing. I knew she loved me, and she knew I loved her… But something inside me made me wait. And she was patient in waiting for me. After a month of dating, I asked her to marry me—"

"Tell me about your proposal."

Greg and Jenny talked as though nothing had ever come between them. And each of them felt as though a gaping wound within their soul had finally healed.


	15. Overdose

A/N I'm sorry this chapter took so long to post. My laptop crashed and I lost everything. I only recently had it fixed, but I have to start from scratch. If the tone of this chapter and subsequent chaptersseems different, it's because it is. I had a hard time trying to get back in the swing of things. Let me know what you think.

A/N I don't own any of these characters, except for Jennifer Langly and Beth Sanders. Everyone else belongs to CSI and so on and so forth.

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The CSIs made good time in returning to the park entrance. Now that they knew where they were going, time seemed to move faster. When they reached the welcome center, Brass threw the Hummer in park and everyone jumped out. By the time he had returned the keys to the park ranger, everyone had settled into their respective vehicles and was anxiously waiting to depart.

Brass leapt into the cruiser, turned on the lights, and sped out of the earthen parking lot, spitting up dirt and gravel in the process. The Tahoe followed suit, as Grissom pushed the pedal to the floor.

As she watched the mountain park give way to civilization, Beth could only hope that they would find Greg, and he would be fine.

* * *

Greg and Jenny were laughing and having a grand old time over dinner when a realization hit Greg. "Jenny, it just occurred to me. When Beth and the others come to 'rescue' me, and they find us here, relaxing and eating dinner, what are they going to think?" 

A puzzled look came over Jenny's face. "You know, I'm not sure. I suppose we'll just tell them the truth. And if they don't buy it, then we'll wing it from there?"

"I guess that's the best we can do. Let's hope that they believe us. If you ask me, the whole thing does seem kind of unbelievable. Is there anything that can back it up?"

"Well, there should still be some propoxyphene in your system-"

"What! You drugged me with propoxyphene? Do you realize that you could have put me in a coma?"

"Greg, maybe you forgot. I went to school for biochem. I did my research. I knew what I was doing."

"Still! It was propoxyphene… Causes seizures, coma, loss of consciousness and the like…"

"I know, and all you did was lose consciousness, just as I wanted."

"Still. There had to be an easier way to do that."

"Well, it worked, and now you have an alibi. You were drugged."

"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better."

"You're right. There were other things I could have done that wouldn't have put your life in danger or disrupt your life in such a manner. I'm sorry, Greg. Whatever happens today, I just want you to know that I love you and I always will. And I'm glad we got the chance to talk."

Before he could respond, she rose from the table and headed into the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as she poured herself a glass of soda. She then grabbed a knife and proceeded to chop something into small pieces. He couldn't tell what it was, since her back was to him. When she was done with the knife, she placed it in the sink. Greg noticed a white powdery residue on the blade, but didn't give it a second thought until he saw her collect a fine white powder from the counter and pour it into her drink. When he realized what she was doing, he stood with such force that his chair flew back to the floor behind him. But by the time he had reached her, she had ingested all of the contents of the glass.


	16. Tainted Rescue

A/N I don't own these characters, CBS does. I only own Beth and Jenny.

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Brass shut his lights off and lowered his speed as he approached the Langly summer home. When he rounded what he hoped was the last corner, the home finally came into view. It was easy to see that it was occupied since many of the lights were on. He slowly pulled his cruiser up towards the front of the house and radioed back to Grissom in the Tahoe. "Grissom, Warrick and I are going to enter the house from the front. I need you and Nick to enter from the back, guns drawn and ready for anything." 

"Copy that, Brass."

Grissom parked the Tahoe near the rear of the house and instructed Catherine and Sara to ready their weapons and search the exterior of the house for potential escape points, while he and Nick entered the house. "Grissom, what am I supposed to do?"

The voice belonged to Beth. Grissom knew she was only a lab technician and didn't have a weapon. "Beth, I need you to stay in the car. We will let you know when the scene is clear for you to enter." He could tell she was not happy, but she agreed to wait in the Tahoe.

* * *

Greg grabbed Jenny by the shoulders and shook her violently. "What was that?" 

She looked away and he shook her harder. He grabbed her jaw and forced her to look him in the eye. "Dexedrine."

"God, Jenny. How much?" She didn't respond, so he shook her again.

"Enough, alright?"

"Damn you Jenny. You're not dying in my arms." Before he had a chance to do anything, she began to convulse. He hurriedly picked up her convulsing body and placed her on the lush carpet in the sitting room. He held her head and did his best to stabilize her body while it shook uncontrollably.

* * *

"Las Vegas Police! Open the door!" Brass heard no response, so he threw the door open and entered, gun drawn. Warrick followed close behind. They didn't see anyone at first, but when they entered the sitting room, they found who they were looking for. Greg was sitting on the floor with Jennifer Langly's head in his lap while her body suffered violent seizures. 

"What the hell happened?"

"I'm fine. She overdosed on Dexedrine. And if she doesn't get medical attention within the next ten minutes, she's going to die."

"Greg, there's no way we can get anyone here that fast."

"I know. And I think she knew that, too." Her body stopped convulsing shortly thereafter, and her pulse dropped to a dangerously low rate. He continued to hold her as Grissom, Nick, Catherine, and Sara entered the house. Brass stepped away from the small crowd and called for an ambulance, knowing full well that it would not make a difference in the end.

Greg began to tear up, in spite of himself. Grissom knelt beside him. "Greg, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but—"

"Greg, listen to me. You've been through a traumatic experience. Let us handle it from here on in, okay?"

"No." His answer was barely audible. When he looked up to Grissom, tears were falling freely from his eyes. "She was my friend. At least let her die in the arms of someone she loved."

Grissom could only imagine what had happened between Greg and his captor, but he knew that they had shared a history, so he respected the young chemist's wishes and stepped back. Jenny died two minutes later, only six minutes after ingesting the pills.

He closed her eyes and gently placed her head on the floor. He stood slowly, reaching out for the couch to brace himself.

* * *

Beth, not able to handle the suspense anymore, left the confines of the Tahoe and entered the house. When she saw Greg bracing himself on the couch, she ran to him. She threw her arms around him and the two collapsed to the ground. She softly cried into his shoulder as he stared off into space. 

"Greg, are you okay?"

He slowly came out of his trance-like state and realized the confusion and pain that Beth must have been felt. He started to massage her back and when he spoke, his voice was full of emotion. "Give me some time and I'll be fine."

She didn't ask any more questions, knowing that all would be explained in due time. For now, she just remained in his embrace, thankful to be reunited with him once again.


End file.
